A Little Pissed at Rodgers

[Fritz]

This hasn't been discussed much on this board, but am I the only one who's a little pissed at A-Rod for not sliding in Detroit? I was at the game, sitting at the 30 yard line, and I watched as Rodgers got past the first down marker and kept running even though two Lions were aiming for him.

Why didn't he slide? I know all the crap about "he's a football player' and "he wanted to fire up the team," but damnit, the guy cost his team that game. As bad as the offense was the first half, the pass blocking did get slightly better in the second half, and frankly Flynn missed some throws that Rodgers would've made. He also was less likely to throw an interception.

Now he also costs his team its best chance to win this Sunday night.

Bad move, A-Rod. Quite trying to show you're "one of the guys" or whatever it is that motivates you not to slide. Slide, dummy. Slide.

[Tony Oday]

He was trying to win. I will never talk bad about a guy that is trying to win the freaking game. It is unfortunate that he got hurt but I was jacked seeing him actually have some positive yards...

[Little Whiskey]

not sure you can win the game in the second qtr. however you can lose it.

[Tony Oday]

Well score 7 in the second and we win...I am more pissed with GJ, Offensive Line and no run game but hey lets blame the one guy that was doing something to try and win on offense...makes sense.

[Cheesehead Craig]

I too was yelling for him to slide. Frankly, I think it was a play he made out of frustration given the offense wasn't doing anything. While I get that he's trying to make a play, you have to make a smart one. I don't think anyone's blaming Rodgers for the loss, just that he's the one guy on the offense we can't lose and he has to realize that.

[MadtownPacker]

Yup, Fritz is on a roll displaying stupidity at its finest this A.M.

Now for my stupid take:

I believe Rodgers was feeling pressed cuz he knew that was not a game that could be lost. HE made a bad move and ate it. He went down going balls to the wall. Cant hate on him for that. Instead of blaming him for not sliding how about blaming his dumbass coach for not running with the actual RB or the GM for not getting a better RB?

[Tony Oday]

Yup, Fritz is on a roll displaying stupidity at its finest this A.M.

Now for my stupid take:

I believe Rodgers was feeling pressed cuz he knew that was not a game that could be lost. HE made a bad move and ate it. He went down going balls to the wall. Cant hate on him for that. Instead of blaming him for not sliding how about blaming his dumbass coach for not running with the actual RB or the GM for not getting a better RB?

Ill blame MM but really TT? He could NOT have known that Grant would go down...he had a nice stable of RBs if Grant stayed healthy and he gave no signs that he is an injury prone back.

[MadtownPacker]

He could not have known but a good, supposedly great, GM would have been better prepared instead of banking on Brandon "two-step" Jackson. It will come out costing a lot more $$$ if Rodgers keeps getting mashed up.

[Tony Oday]

He could not have known but a good, supposedly great, GM would have been better prepared instead of banking on Brandon "two-step" Jackson. It will come out costing a lot more $$$ if Rodgers keeps getting mashed up.

Well he did draft Starks, picked up Nance, had Kuhn...I am not saying these guys are world breakers but he had options.

[MadtownPacker]

He had options but MM doesnt seem to think so. Maybe a TT memo saying "quit fucking up my prize QB you fatass and use the scrubs instead" would help.

[packerbacker1234]

Because he's a football player and he wants to win. We don't yell at RB's to slide, so why yell at the QB?

Frankly, Rodgers may not have gotten the first down had he slid. If you notice, he only got it by one, maybe 2 yards. The slide at least knocks a yard off of it. Earlier this year, a few times, he did do the slide, thought he had the first, but was marked short and they had to punt. I think that is always in te back of his mind so he wanted to ensure he had the first. On top of trying to ensure he has the first...

We had done nothing offensively all game. Cames CAN be won in ANY quarter. To say it's the second quarter is laughable. We score a TD that drive, we win the game. We score a TD instead of an int on the 3rd quarter on Flynn's drive, we win. You never know what drive is going to be the one that provides the critical points needed to win the game. Our offense looked like garbage out there the entire first half, so Rodgers was simply being a football player and trying to get us going. I will not fault him for that. If he is faulted for that, the famous John Elway run in the superbowl against us should be faulted too.

Sure, it's the Super Bowl, and you always throw caution to the wind injury wise in that game and go for it all, even as a QB. Still, it's not that uncommon for QB's to not slide when they aren't sure. In hindsight should he have? Sure, but I'm not pissed about.

This is football, and frankly, anyone can get injured on any play. Favre gets hit while throwing? Boom, misses his first game since 1992. Rodgers gets hit while getting a first down? Boom, most likely missing at least one game. Tom brady steps back int he pocket - rolled up on and gone for the year. It can be any play in any given moment that causes injury, and almost all of them were always preventable in some fashion. Maybe favre should of thrown the ball sooner an felt that back pressure. Maybe brady should of moved in the pocket with a defender getting close instead of standing like a statue. Maybe rodgers should of slid instead of fighting to make sure it was a first down.

Not mad at him over it. He's a football player. Football is a contact sport. You play to win the game.

[Guiness]

I'm with Fritz a little on this one - more of the opinion of Cheesehead Craig. I don't blame Rodgers for the loss, but do think he blew it by not sliding. Once he was by that first down marker, there was no reason for him to continue to run, not like he was going to 'break one' and get a TD.

All he should've been concerned with was getting a new set of downs so he could try to move the chains again.

On a related note, I've seen very little mention of what he was doing back on the field for the next series. Even on TV I could easily see he was out of it. How did he get back on the field?

[sheepshead]

This hasn't been discussed much on this board, but am I the only one who's a little pissed at A-Rod for not sliding in Detroit? I was at the game, sitting at the 30 yard line, and I watched as Rodgers got past the first down marker and kept running even though two Lions were aiming for him.

Why didn't he slide? I know all the crap about "he's a football player' and "he wanted to fire up the team," but damnit, the guy cost his team that game. As bad as the offense was the first half, the pass blocking did get slightly better in the second half, and frankly Flynn missed some throws that Rodgers would've made. He also was less likely to throw an interception.




Now he also costs his team its best chance to win this Sunday night.

Bad move, A-Rod. Quite trying to show you're "one of the guys" or whatever it is that motivates you not to slide. Slide, dummy. Slide.




Not nearly as pissed as he is at himself I'll wager.

[Fritz]

That wasn't the first time Rodgers got dinged because he didn't slide. I'm not saying it's all his fault - I'm saying that amidst all the talk about the shitty offensive line play (well deserved), the coaching (deserved) and the running back play (Honestly, BJack is a good...third down back), Rodgers's not-sliding didn't get much mention, and I think it deserves mention.

I believe that if he hadn't slid the Packers would've won that game despite the shitty play of the o-line. And now instead of gnashing our teeth over the impact of that loss, we'd be merrily writing off the NE game and looking ahead to the Giants game.

So yeah, I'm a little pissed at A-Rod.

[HarveyWallbangers]

I too was yelling for him to slide. Frankly, I think it was a play he made out of frustration given the offense wasn't doing anything. While I get that he's trying to make a play, you have to make a smart one. I don't think anyone's blaming Rodgers for the loss, just that he's the one guy on the offense we can't lose and he has to realize that.

Agree with this. After Jennings dropped the TD turned interception and with the offense doing little, you could just sense ARod looking to make a play. In fact, I believe he had a run before this one that he didn't slide on either.

[Fritz]

Yes, he did. And I was yelling at him to slide on that one.

It's a game that hinges on one or two plays. Quarless doesn't fumble, Jennings hangs on, Rodgers slides, Flynn doesn't throw an interception, Flynn throws that last pass a yard and a half shorter, and we're all chatting happily about this week's game being one that the team can afford to lose...

[Tony Oday]

Well knowing the NFL AR slides...gets hit helmet to helmet and the same thing happens just no call ;)

[Scott Campbell]

This hasn't been discussed much on this board, but am I the only one who's a little pissed at A-Rod for not sliding in Detroit?


I put 60% of the blame on Rodgers, and 40% on McCarthy. Aaron has done that before and gotten away with it. McCarthy needs to bench him for a series when he does it. That'll cure him.

It was a ridiculously stupid risk for him to take - especially since he was just injured during the Washington game.

[denverYooper]

Agree with this. After Jennings dropped the TD turned interception and with the offense doing little, you could just sense ARod looking to make a play. In fact, I believe he had a run before this one that he didn't slide on either.

+2.

[denverYooper]

I put 60% of the blame on Rodgers, and 40% on McCarthy. Aaron has done that before and gotten away with it. McCarthy needs to bench him for a series when he does it. That'll cure him.

It was a ridiculously stupid risk for him to take - especially since he was just injured during the Washington game.

I sure hope to hell that missing a game and a half makes him slide from now on.

[RashanGary]

I swear, QB's get hurt more becuase they're trying to avoid contact. When you can, fine, I agree they should slide.

But when you can't slide, nothing good comes from making your body long and stretching to avoid contact. Get tight, like any normal person would bracing for impact, make yourself a little slippery in the sense that don't absorb pure contact and then take the contact the best way you can. You rarely see frail WR's get hurt becuase they don't put themselves in such awful positions just trying to avoid contact. QB's are taught something that works when they can slide, but their passive mentality is dangerous once they get in a spot where they can't slide.

[th87]

He lost his cool. You could tell he went for max yards out of frustration.

Why no running? Jackson can't hit a hole fast enough. Why not Starks? He's not yet in the passing game, and the way their d line was manhandling ours, if they knew it was a run, we'd have no chance.

It all goes back to the line. Fix that, Super Bowl.

[Patler]

Frankly, Rodgers may not have gotten the first down had he slid. If you notice, he only got it by one, maybe 2 yards. The slide at least knocks a yard off of it. Earlier this year, a few times, he did do the slide, thought he had the first, but was marked short and they had to punt. I think that is always in te back of his mind so he wanted to ensure he had the first. On top of trying to ensure he has the first...

He had the first down by 13 yards! It was second and five. He ran for 18 yards.


2-5-GB 25 (3:22) A.Rodgers scrambles up the middle to GB 43 for 18 yards (A.Spievey). R2
Timeout #1 by GB at 02:43.

[sharpe1027]

He should have slid. The only defense I can offer is that he may have briefly thought he could get clear of the defenders as neither were directly in front of him. Poor judgment either way.

[mraynrand]

We don't yell at RB's to slide, so why yell at the QB?

You didn't really ask this, did you? RBs are dime a dozen compared to decent starting QBs, and Rodgers is one of the best playing today AND he already has a concussion this season. Why do you think the NFL protects the QBs more than running backs? Answer: because the NFL knows nothing makes football worse than shitty QB play - just look at the Vikings loss to the Giants or the Carolina/Bears matchup this year. QBs who get hit less, play longer. Isn't that obvious? As the kids say: Duh!

[HarveyWallbangers]

He should have slid. The only defense I can offer is that he may have briefly thought he could get clear of the defenders as neither were directly in front of him. Poor judgment either way.

I agree with this. Hindsight is 20-20. He's turned a couple of runs where it looked like he should slide into big gains. I think he thought he could squeak through and maybe go all the way. And I think he thought the team needed a spark. I'm not going to lose too much sleep over it.

This guy didn't slide either. :)

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/09000d5d81cbece0/Suh-s-illegal-hit-on-Cutler

How many yards does Rodgers lose on this run if he had decided to slide?

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-fantasy/09000d5d81bf382b/QB-Rodgers-27-yd-run

And this one

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-fantasy/09000d5d81ae5d30/QB-Rodgers-17-yd-run

I just think it's a bit crazy to criticize him too much. Player was trying to make a play. He misjudged what he could get out of it. It happens. It will happen again.

[Pugger]

That wasn't the first time Rodgers got dinged because he didn't slide. I'm not saying it's all his fault - I'm saying that amidst all the talk about the shitty offensive line play (well deserved), the coaching (deserved) and the running back play (Honestly, BJack is a good...third down back), Rodgers's not-sliding didn't get much mention, and I think it deserves mention.

I believe that if he hadn't slid the Packers would've won that game despite the shitty play of the o-line. And now instead of gnashing our teeth over the impact of that loss, we'd be merrily writing off the NE game and looking ahead to the Giants game.

So yeah, I'm a little pissed at A-Rod.

Why should he slide? He's been getting hit after sliding all season so Rodgers might have figured "f-it" and tried to get what he could. Unfortunately he hit his head on the turf and saw stars. :-(

[Fritz]

Why should he slide? So he doesn't get hurt.

[Pugger]

Why should he slide? So he doesn't get hurt.

Yes, but you are missing my point. For some damn reason Rodgers has been getting hammered by defenders but not a flag is in sight. If Brady, Manning - and don't come back with "Rodgers hasn't done anything so he won't get that call" cuz even if Culter is hit like Rodgers has the last couple of years the field would be raining yellow hankies. :-[

[Joemailman]

Aaron's not dumb, but he does have a stubborn streak. Now that he's put his own health in jeopardy (2 concussions in 2 months is serious business), and probably harmed his team's playoff chances, I'm pretty confident he'll finally get the message.

[red]

i think the general consensus in the game day thread was that it really didn't matter if he slid or went headfirst. ever single time this year that he's given up and slid he's been hit in the head by some asshole anyways

without ever getting a flag

[Joemailman]

I'll bet if you went back and looked at replays of when he has slid, that would not be the case.

[bobblehead]

I'll bet if you went back and looked at replays of when he has slid, that would not be the case.

In chicago a defender literally jumped ass first on Aarons head after he was on the ground...can't remember if it was a slide or what exactly the situation was, but there definately should have been a flag. I can think of 2 other cases he slid that a defender jumped on him, once shoulder to helmet and not a flag either time. That is 3 I remember off the top of my head.

[bobblehead]

Because he's a football player and he wants to win. We don't yell at RB's to slide, so why yell at the QB?

.

different position with a different skill set and a different body type. RBs have much thicker necks and are far more powerful. They are entirely different types of athletes. When QB's get tackled they take the brunt of it, almost never delivering the hit. The few exceptions I can recall would be Elway, McNair, McNabb, and Young (and even young got concussions, but I don't recall if they came in open field or the pocket.) There have been a few others who were built for it, but failed as QB's so they didn't have the impact. Vince Young, Jamarcus Russel, David Klingler.

[Guiness]

different position with a different skill set and a different body type. RBs have much thicker necks and are far more powerful. They are entirely different types of athletes. When QB's get tackled they take the brunt of it, almost never delivering the hit. The few exceptions I can recall would be Elway, McNair, McNabb, and Young (and even young got concussions, but I don't recall if they came in open field or the pocket.) There have been a few others who were built for it, but failed as QB's so they didn't have the impact. Vince Young, Jamarcus Russel, David Klingler.

Pretty much what I wanted to say. An RB is under 6' tall (usually 5'10"?) and 220 - built like a fireplug. A QB is 6'2" to 6'5", same weight.

I'd add Culpepper to your list of QB's that could deliver a hit.

[Pugger]

In chicago a defender literally jumped ass first on Aarons head after he was on the ground...can't remember if it was a slide or what exactly the situation was, but there definately should have been a flag. I can think of 2 other cases he slid that a defender jumped on him, once shoulder to helmet and not a flag either time. That is 3 I remember off the top of my head.

I can think of 2 more incidents where defenders could hit AR in the head or grab his facemask in the AZ playoff game and each time the refs swallowed their whistles.

[bobblehead]

Pretty much what I wanted to say. An RB is under 6' tall (usually 5'10"?) and 220 - built like a fireplug. A QB is 6'2" to 6'5", same weight.

I'd add Culpepper to your list of QB's that could deliver a hit.

I put Culpepper on the "failed as a QB list :) Seriously though, he was stout. This Cam Newton could be special. I thought nothing of him as he scrambled for 1000 yards, but when teams stacked up to stop him from running....oh oh, he is an accurate passer who makes reasonable decisions. The problem is, with ONE season to grade him on, its hard to take the guy in the top 15. He MIGHT be as good as advertised, but I like the TT method of taking seniors with a lot of film to study. Its the reason he doesn't flop his picks in the first two rounds as much as wolf did.

[packerbacker1234]

Honestly Rodgers in or not, I'm not sure we win that game. Say what you want, Rodgers had basically an entire half of football and produced "0" points. There was nothing happening that suggested it was going to change in the second half. The only glimmer was a deep "should of been caught" TD pass that litterally jennings just dropped, and watched it flop right into the defenders hands. That play, if caught, was the glimmer. But prior to and after that, nothing was really happening.

In fact, Flynn got the ball moving almost immediatly in the second half, because you could tell the gameplan changed. We went dink and dunk and it worked. We would not of went dink and dunk with Rodgers out there, and hence, I think the first half struggles would of continued. I like to think we win that game with rodgers, but I saw no reason in the first half outside of the one throw Jennings dropped. We were getting outplayed badly, and that was with AR.

[pbmax]

Yup, Fritz is on a roll displaying stupidity at its finest this A.M.

Now for my stupid take:

I believe Rodgers was feeling pressed cuz he knew that was not a game that could be lost. HE made a bad move and ate it. He went down going balls to the wall. Cant hate on him for that. Instead of blaming him for not sliding how about blaming his dumbass coach for not running with the actual RB or the GM for not getting a better RB?

Because part of Rodgers job description is to be available every game. He is not the coach or GM, but he is responsible for playing. And as a running QB, he is a running bullseye on the field out of the pocket. It wasn't even a 3rd down play, was it?

It was 2nd and five.

[pbmax]

Honestly Rodgers in or not, I'm not sure we win that game. Say what you want, Rodgers had basically an entire half of football and produced "0" points. There was nothing happening that suggested it was going to change in the second half. The only glimmer was a deep "should of been caught" TD pass that litterally jennings just dropped, and watched it flop right into the defenders hands. That play, if caught, was the glimmer. But prior to and after that, nothing was really happening.

In fact, Flynn got the ball moving almost immediatly in the second half, because you could tell the gameplan changed. We went dink and dunk and it worked. We would not of went dink and dunk with Rodgers out there, and hence, I think the first half struggles would of continued. I like to think we win that game with rodgers, but I saw no reason in the first half outside of the one throw Jennings dropped. We were getting outplayed badly, and that was with AR.

Nevermind, my memory is horrible. I thought the Packer FG was in the first half.

[rbaloha1]

Aaron's not dumb, but he does have a stubborn streak. Now that he's put his own health in jeopardy (2 concussions in 2 months is serious business), and probably harmed his team's playoff chances, I'm pretty confident he'll finally get the message.

Its Berkley arrogance. Could be interesting if Stanford Harbaugh takes over.

[Pugger]

Honestly Rodgers in or not, I'm not sure we win that game. Say what you want, Rodgers had basically an entire half of football and produced "0" points. There was nothing happening that suggested it was going to change in the second half. The only glimmer was a deep "should of been caught" TD pass that litterally jennings just dropped, and watched it flop right into the defenders hands. That play, if caught, was the glimmer. But prior to and after that, nothing was really happening.

In fact, Flynn got the ball moving almost immediatly in the second half, because you could tell the gameplan changed. We went dink and dunk and it worked. We would not of went dink and dunk with Rodgers out there, and hence, I think the first half struggles would of continued. I like to think we win that game with rodgers, but I saw no reason in the first half outside of the one throw Jennings dropped. We were getting outplayed badly, and that was with AR.

Had Quarless not fumbled and Jennings not had a sure TD bounce off his hands the score would have been 10 - 0 by halftime so you really can't say that Rodgers didn't produce any points - he can't do it alone. And who is to say Rodgers couldn't have rallied the troops in the second half?

[Patler]

Aaron's not dumb, but he does have a stubborn streak. Now that he's put his own health in jeopardy (2 concussions in 2 months is serious business), and probably harmed his team's playoff chances, I'm pretty confident he'll finally get the message.

...and if he crumples up and slides with defenders too far away, other fans will question his determination, his desire to win, his "willingness to do what it takes". God forbid that he slides and comes up short. He will be pilloried by fans.

Rodgers HAS slid quite often at the ends of runs, he has also managed to avoid hits at times and pickup extra yardage. He thought there were more yards to be had, and tried to get them. I doubt it was because of a personality flaw.

[Joemailman]

Patler, I could agree with your post if it weren't for the fact that he was 13 yards past what he needed for the 1st down. Would he have been criticized for only getting 18 yards when he could have gotten 20? I doubt it. I like the fact that Rodgers is aggressive when running the ball, but he needs to realize that he is the most indispensable member on the team. That game did not hinge on how many yards Rodgers gained on that play. We may look back and say that the season hinged on the fact that Rodgers was knocked out of that game, and the one about to be played.

[Scott Campbell]

...and if he crumples up and slides with defenders too far away, other fans will question his determination, his desire to win, his "willingness to do what it takes". God forbid that he slides and comes up short. He will be pilloried by fans.


He already did slide and come up short once this year. There wasn't much fan backlash as far as I can tell.

[Patler]

Patler, I could agree with your post if it weren't for the fact that he was 13 yards past what he needed for the 1st down. Would he have been criticized for only getting 18 yards when he could have gotten 20? I doubt it. I like the fact that Rodgers is aggressive when running the ball, but he needs to realize that he is the most indispensable member on the team. That game did not hinge on how many yards Rodgers gained on that play. We may look back and say that the season hinged on the fact that Rodgers was knocked out of that game, and the one about to be played.

From what I remember, (assuming he didn't see the linebacker sort of coming from behind, and I expect he didn't or he would have slid), if he had gotten past the DB there was lots of open field ahead of him. I think his eyes got big and he saw another 10 yards or more ahead of him.

[Patler]

He already did slide and come up short once this year. There wasn't much fan backlash as far as I can tell.

Ya, but many thought it was a horrible spot (although replays showed it was probably close to right), and as I recall, it didn't matter anyway. Not a crucial play.

[Pugger]

I just had a horrid thought. What if Rodgers' concussion is a lot worse than anyone is letting on and he'll be out again next week against the Giants!? :shock: :-(

[th87]

I just had a horrid thought. What if Rodgers' concussion is a lot worse than anyone is letting on and he'll be out again next week against the Giants!? :shock: :-(

I'd get mentally prepared. Two concussions in a season is not a good thing at all.

[SnakeLH2006]

Snake's brother is a Packer fan, but doctor first....I asked him about it. It's not good. Receiving 2 concussions in a short period of time (mere months) is VERY detrimental to any human (esp. a QB).

This sucks. I love ARod to death and he's a bit different than Lord Favre, but in good ways (he's consistent). Either way, we are fucked with Flynn at QB. That guy is garbage. I watched that game with buddies and we all said the same...(we are fucked now, but also, Flynn is just like every other QB like Drew Stanton.....those guys are 90% fucked...given they suck as an NFL QB).....and you know what, Flynn is garbage. He's fidgety, looks down his 1 and 2 options (if he gets that far) at WR, and has no clue....and his arm is weak.

[bobblehead]

different position with a different skill set and a different body type. RBs have much thicker necks and are far more powerful. They are entirely different types of athletes. When QB's get tackled they take the brunt of it, almost never delivering the hit. The few exceptions I can recall would be Elway, McNair, McNabb, and Young (and even young got concussions, but I don't recall if they came in open field or the pocket.) There have been a few others who were built for it, but failed as QB's so they didn't have the impact. Vince Young, Jamarcus Russel, David Klingler.

Game time update....add Tim Tebow to QB's who can deliver the hit. Vick was awesome today as well, but he is different....just flat out faster than everyone and avoids the hits.

[digitaldean]

Also remember he has slid before and been hit with NO personal fouls called.